


Son of Duchess Swan

by WolfRune20855



Series: Ever After High the Next Generation [6]
Category: Ever After High
Genre: Duchess and Sparrow are great parents, Duchess is a cool mom, Duchess's pov, F/M, Gen, next gen fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-19 11:07:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14235945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfRune20855/pseuds/WolfRune20855
Summary: What's happened so far as told by Duchess Swan.





	Son of Duchess Swan

By the time that Duke goes to spellementary school, she has the whole mothering thing down to an artform. She knows what’s going to happen. Duke is going to make friends with the first kid who smiles at him and then they’ll be best friends until they fight, and on and on it goes. She’s already been through this twice and she'll go through it again, so she really has no reason to worry.

That doesn’t stop Duchess from worrying though. Duke is her only son, and, like it or not, he’s the child that really took after her. Her eldest loves music while her second loves archery, but Duke loves ballet. Duchess knows that the other kids will make fun of him for that. After all, children are cruel, especially to those who are different.

What she doesn’t expect is to be called to the principal's office five days after school starts because her son got into a fight. Duke is many things, but he is not physically violent. With a sigh, she tells Sparrow not to worry about it and goes to fix things on her own.

When she arrives at the office, what she finds surprises her. Dexter Charming and Raven Queen have been called, along with Sir Chase Redford, who Duchess hasn’t seen in years. Raven glances up as Duchess enters and chuckles.

“You too, huh?” she asks.

Duchess nods and takes a seat in the waiting area. “Do you know what happened? I mean, Duke isn’t usually one for violence. I can’t believe that he would start a fight.”

“He didn’t,” says Chase with a slight Wonderlandian accent. “Twenty bucks says this was all Rosemary.”

“Like I’m going to take you up on that,” Dexter snorts.

“You really shouldn’t be making bets about your daughter’s violent tendencies,” Raven reprimands him.

“She’s not violent,” Chase says, “She’s passionate.”

At that moment, the door to the office opened and in marched the principal with their three kids in tow. The one with the bright purple hair is so obviously Raven’s that Duchess would have laughed if it weren’t so inappropriate. She gasps as she takes in the little girl with a bandaged fist. She’s fairly tall for her age, with her short brown hair pulled back into pigtails and green eyes staring out from a face covered with freckles. For a moment, she reminds Duchess of Sparrow when he was little. She looks so determined.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice.” The principal, a tall, kingly man with grey hair, takes a seat at his desk. The three kindergarteners remain standing. “It seems that there was some sort of altercation on the playground involving your children.”

Duchess catches Duke’s eye and he smiles weakly before glancing to the floor. Good. He’s okay.

“What happened?” asks Raven. 

“It appears that Miss Rosemary decided to take matters into her own hands instead of doing the right thing and reporting it to a teacher.”

“Gal told a teacher!” the girl protests, “You didn’t do anything about it. I had no choice.”

“There is always a choice, Rosemary,” the principal says, “And you chose incorrectly, so I have no other option but to suspend you for the rest of the week.”

“You can’t do that!” shouts Gal.

“I suggest that you stay silent Mr. Gallant, unless you would like to join your cousin.”

“Principal Smith,” Dexter says reasonably, “surely there’s a better way to handle this situation.”

“I’m sorry,” says Smith, “but school policy dictates that whoever was the instigator be suspended, and I’m afraid that in this situation it was Miss Charming.”

“No it wasn’t,” Duke says quietly.

“Pardon?”

Duchess gets up from her seat and crouches down so that she’s eye level with her son. He looks so much like her. He may have Sparrow’s bright red hair, but the rest of it is her. “What do you mean?” she asks.

“It isn’t Rosie’s fault,” Duke says, “She was only trying to help.”

“Yeah,” Gal pipes in, “She only did it because Luka called Duke a faggot.”

Four heads turn to face the principle, watching to see what he will do next. Smith sighed. “I’m sorry. School policy-”

“To hell with school policy!” interrupts Chase, “She was protecting her friend!”

“Violence never solves violence.”

“Neither do teachers, apparently,” Dexter mutters, causing Raven to chuckle.

In the end, all three of their children get suspended. And, over the course of that week, they spend their time moving from one house to another. Duchess gets to know her son’s friends, and she approves of them. 

Gallant Charming goes by Gal because he hates the full version of his name. He inherited more than just his hair from his mother, as he has a magical talent to rival Raven’s. He has his father’s brains as well, but he can never seem to direct them towards something productive. He has an imagination for days, and Duchess catches him daydreaming often. He and Duke get along like a house on fire, for which she is thankful. Duke needs friends who see him for what he is: amazing.

Rosemary Charming is more of an acquired taste than her favorite cousin. She is the youngest of the entire Charming brood, and it seems like she is always trying to catch up. She more outspoken than either of her parents were at her age. Duchess supposes that’s what happens when you have a supportive family instead of a judgemental one. Duchess can’t help but smile when Rosemary trails through the house behind Gal and Duke, with dried mud on her sneakers and leaves in her hair.

Duke calls her Rosie. As far as Duchess knows, he is the only person who does. His relationship with Rosemary is different from his relationship with Gal. It seems to Duchess that the young girl considers herself to be the boys protector, while Duke considers Rosemary...well, Duchess can’t pin her finger on it exactly. There are moment where the two have entirely silent conversations. It amazes Duchess, and she can’t help but to feel a little envious of her son.

* * *

 

Over the course of the next several years, the Charming cousins become frequent visitors in the Hood-Swan house. The three of them go exploring and hang out. Duchess would have thought that they would grow apart at some point, but that is not the case. If anything, they are closer than ever. 

Duchess watches the three of them disappear into the forest and sips her coffee. Everyone knows that fairytale characters aren't supposed to wander into the forest, but she's not worried. Perhaps she would be if Rosemary hadn't recently received a set of throwing knives for her ninth birthday that she was a natural with, or if Gal weren't so good with magic. Duke and his friends could take care of themselves in that matter. 

Besides, they had to be home for dinner. 

“Where is everyone?” Sparrow asks, wandering into the kitchen. 

“Music practice, the Beauty house, the forest, and my grandmother wanted to spend the day with Lark.”

“Does that mean what I think it means?” Sparrow asks. 

Duchess smiles. “If you think that it means that we finally have the house to ourselves, then yes.” 

“Finally.” Sparrow collapses into the chair beside her. “Who would've thought that having six kids is so much work?”

“Six?” Duchess raises an eyebrow. 

“Naturally Gal and Rosemary are our children,” Sparrow says, “They spend more time at our house than at their fancy castles.” 

“Naturally,” Duchess says and leans over to kiss her husband. “So, the house is free...”

“Indeed it is.” Sparrow grins.

* * *

 

Sparrow’s complaining about fifth grade graduation as if he hasn’t already been to two of them and won’t happily be attending another one in a couple of years. Duchess shakes her head and takes her seat, the small smile never leaving her face. She is slightly surprised when Darling Charming sits next to her, with her husband sitting on her left.

Darling and Duchess have never managed to totally get along, even after all of these years. Duchess supposes that it has something to do with internalized resentment or something like that. She has never been particularly worried about it. Their children get along just fine and both of them would rather spend time with Raven Queen than with one another. 

To think that her life ever came to this.

“Where are the kids?” Darling asks.

“Robin and Marian took them for the night,” Duchess says, “None of them want to have to sit through a  _ boring _ graduation ceremony.” 

Darling laughs, a dainty sound that sounds nothing like Rosemary’s snorts. Sometimes, Duchess wonders how it was possible that the two were mother and daughter. Lavender seems to take after Darling in most ways, while Rosemary is all rough edges and sarchasm. Maybe there is a side of Darling that no one but her family saw, but Duchess doubts it.

The lights dim and the graduation ceremony begin. Duchess politely claps for each student. She has to hide her laughter as Sparrow whoops when Duke crosses the stage.

“That’s my boy!” he shouts. 

Duchess squeezes his hand in hers.  _ He looks so old _ , she thinks to herself. And he does.

* * *

 

Duke is in seventh grade when Rosemary stops spending the nights. When Duchess asks him about it, he shrugs.

“She’s a girl,” he says.

“She was a girl before,” Duchess points out.

“Yeah,” Duke agrees, “but now she’s...you know. She’s a girl. She’s got long hair and wears dresses and stuff.”

Duchess can’t remember a single time in her life when she’s seen Rosemary Charming wear a dress. She would have remembered if she had. She decides not to press the point any further, and leaves Duke alone.

Three days later, Gal and Rosemary wind up on their front porch and Duchess lets them in. Duke was right about Rosemary. Her hair had gotten longer and she was beginning to develop a fuller figure. But she still wore the same ripped up jeans that she always had. Gal, on the other hand, had shot up like a weed overnight. The boy would soon be taller than anyone in his family, if he wasn’t already.

When Duke comes down the stairs, Duchess finally understands it. The way that he blushes when Rosemary accidentally bumps into him. The smiles. The way that he rubs the back of his neck, a trait that he inherited from his father. 

Duke has a crush.

“You seriously just noticed?” Sparrow asks her later that night.

“Just? How long has this been going on?”

“A couple of months,” Sparrow says.

“A couple of months?” Duchess chokes. “When did you become more aware of what is happening in our children’s lives than me?”

“I’ve always been more aware, babe.” Duchess glares at her husband.

* * *

 

The crush fades away with time as crushes are wont to do, but the Charming cousins remain a fixture in the Hood household. Before Duchess knows it, Duke is going to Ever After High, and she is suddenly feeling very old.

Sparrow wraps an arm around her shoulder as they watch their son disappear into the castle with his trunk in tow. “We’ve still got one left,” he whispers to her.

One more left. When did she get so old?

* * *

 

“You know what?” Duchess listens to Duke shout into his phone from the living room. It is three days before he turns sixteen, and he’s been acting irritated recently. “Go ahead! Leave! See if I care!” Something hits the wall and then nothing.

Silence.

Later, she finds him in the studio. Music is playing over the speakers - some pop tune that she doesn’t recognize - as Duke runs through his warm up exercises. Duchess changes into her ballet slippers and joins him on the floor. He doesn’t acknowledge her presence, keeping his eyes closed as they move through the routine that they both know by heart. 

After what feels like hours, he speaks, “She hates me.”

Duchess instantly knows who he is talking about, and it isn’t his girlfriend, Stella. “Why?”

The music stops, leaving the two of them in silence. “Because I told her that I loved her.”

Duchess gasps, a small noise that is barely audible. “When?”

“Back in eighth grade. Things haven’t really been the same since. I didn’t know if she even remembered until tonight, but she doesn’t like Stella, and she hates me. It’s so fucking-” the way that his voice cracks has Duchess pulling him into a hug. He begins to sob.

“It will all be okay,” she reassures him, “Things will work themselves out. They always do.”

She’s always been horrible at giving advice.

* * *

 

Things don’t work themselves out.

Gal remains a fixture in her house during the breaks, but it seems strange not to have Rosemary there, always trying to catch up. Duke dates around, which she supposes is only natural. Stella. Jane. Jo. Kimberly. The latest on Duke’s list is Honeycrisp White, and Duchess finds that she (surprisingly) likes the daughter of Apple White. She’s smart, and better than most of the girls that Duke brings home.

Duke and Gal throw a party at their house one weekend. It is supposed to be a small affair, but these things never are. She and Sparrow lock themselves up in their room for the night, knowing that anything broken will be repaired magically by Gal. 

Sparrow is trying so hard to be a “cool” dad, but by the end of the night, he puts in earplugs and ends up snoring on their bed. Duchess smiles to herself before shuffling out of their room to make herself a cup of tea.

The party is beginning to quiet down. People are beginning to head home, but there are still enough people that it can be considered active. Duchess notices that someone(not her son) brought alcohol, so quite a few princes and princesses are wasted. Ah. She remembers those days. Or, well, she doesn’t, because she was never really invited.

Honey White is sitting alone at the kitchen table, staring blankly at something that’s going on in the living room. She glances at Duchess as she enters and smiles.

“How are you doing?” Duchess asks.

Honey smiles weakly. “Duke and I just broke up.”

“What happened?” Duchess isn’t sure if she’s surprised that Duke and Honey broke up. They seemed to get along fairly well. 

“I should have known,” Honey says, “I mean, we have hexonomics together. Nobody fights that much because they hate each other. I just assumed that she was gay.”

Duchess nods as she puts the kettle on to boil. She knows exactly who Honey was talking about. She knew exactly why she had broken up with Duke:

Rosemary Charming.

* * *

 

Duke goes to a wedding with Gal over the summer. One of Gal’s sisters is getting married to one of Cupid’s sons. Duchess almost smiles at the irony. A love that failed in one generation rekindled in the next and all that romantic stuff. She doesn’t know what happens, but Duke comes home with a smile on his face practically whistling a jaunty tune. 

It isn’t until they drop off Duke and Lark for the school year that Duchess knows. 

“Hey, Rosie,” Duke says as Rosemary Charming strolls past them.

“Hey, idiot,” is her response, but it isn’t menacing. In fact, it sounds rather a lot like how Duchess used to address Sparrow when they were in high school.

Sparrow catches her eye and grins.

Duchess can't help but to grin in return.


End file.
